Improving education, health and culture alongside corporate image
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Gül Demir - Niki Gamm
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 09, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Many companies and organizations contribute to projects such as education and health and rarely make an enormous public relations confession about it. The spouses of the consuls general based in Istanbul for instance have raised money to help children who have been rescued from living on the streets and others help via home auctions
A number of years ago one of Turkey’s largest companies that sponsored a sports club decided to solicit suggestions for projects that might help it turn its image into a more positive one.
One suggestion was to use its sporting image to help communities in the eastern and southern parts of the country by providing sports facilities. What had to be done was fairly simple Ğ lease some waste land from local municipalities or the Treasury, blacktop it over, add a couple of nets, some paint for lines to define the playing area and some balls. The municipality would be responsible for upkeep and the local schools could provide instruction and oversight via the Sports Ministry. The club’s team members could even go out and give exhibitions, perhaps do some coaching and attract more interest to the sport. The answer was no. The company might have to get involved with the "land mafia."
What other project this company decided to do in the end isn’t known but it could never have had the impact that this proposal would have had. And one can look at this organization’s attempt to change its image as a cynical attempt to use the concept of corporate social responsibility for its own ends.
Many other companies and organizations contribute to projects such as education and health and rarely make an enormous public relations confession about it. Doğan Holding to which the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review belongs has a significant corporate social responsibility program that includes fields of education, health and culture but has also been active in acquainting citizens of Turkey with their rights. In a different vein, the wives of the consuls general in Istanbul for instance have raised money to help children who have been rescued from living on the streets. In the past, groups were known to engage in cultural activities in their own homes to raise money for important causes but this lapsed because of the current economic crisis. Now the wife of the honorary Chilean consul, Ebru Sanver, has begun to open her home and hold cultural activities for charitable purposes. Most recently friends from Switzerland, Ruedi Rechsteiner and Tülin Özgür from the banking sector who happened to be visiting personally donated 5,000 Swiss francs (approx. $4400) to the Leukemia Foundation. Others might underwrite the expenses of bringing in a famous orchestra to perform in the Istanbul Music Festival and therefore people get to hear it in person.
Educational foundations probably top the list of those able to capture the hearts of the people. One of these is the Tuvana Educational Foundation for Students who Want to Read, or TOÇEV. It was established in 1994 to provide educational opportunities and give material and moral support at all educational levels to children who are deprived of education because of the economic incapacity of their families that result in their having to earn a living instead.
TOÇEV activities are carried out through a board of directors that coordinates all of the foundation’s activities. There is a women’s committee that nominates the children, accepts donations and organizes social activities to raise donations and revenue. There is also a youth committee that organizes medical exams, participates in social activities with the children, helps solve the children’s problems and organizes activities to raise donations and revenue.
Akçakoyun Boarding Primary School
TOÇEV’s most recent efforts are part of its "Looking to the Sun Project" whereby new units were added to the Akçakoyun Boarding Primary School in Çanakkale province.
The "Looking to the Sun Project was designed by Tocev and RE/MAX Turkey and won the support of the Education Ministry. But it’s not just an educational project. Its goal is to support and encourage students who actually had homes and futures by providing further opportunities at boarding schools. To date in more than 600 schools, there are more than 165,000 students.
Last week the Çırağan Palace Kempinski joined TOÇEV, RE/MAX Turkey and the Education Ministry in Çanakkale’s Yenice district. The occasion included some 450 people Ğ students, trustees and other guests as well as the Yenice Mayor Cem Afsin Akbay, Yenice National Education Director Vahdet Hatipoğlu, Çırağan Palace Kempinski General Manager Henri Blin, TOÇEV executive board member Betül Mermertaş and RE-MAX Turkey Corporate Communications Director Gökhan Karahan. The ceremony’s host was actor Hakan Bilgin while "Magic Necmi" did his part to add to the festivities. The students were included in the gaiety with violin, guitar, poetry readings and dance performances. After lunch in the garden the students had an opportunity to speak with guests who were managers and learn about different professions.
Extensive hotel career
Improvements and innovations at the school are going to provide a better quality education and social life for the 330 boarding school students here at Akçakoyun Boarding Primary School. These include a painting workshop, music workshop, English classes, a basketball and volleyball field, garden chess, garden golf, gymnastic instruments and a conference room with technical equipment.
Among the people at the ceremony was Henri Blin, the general manager of the Çıragan Kempinski Istanbul and the international hotel chain’s regional manager. He has had an extensive career in the hotel business but he characterizes a break he took to work in a nursery school as one of the best moments of his life. Perhaps that’s why the Çıragan has taken such an interest in the Yenice Boarding School.
Other 2009 social responsibility projects of the Çırağan Palace Kempinski include its intention to continue working with the Turkish Marine Environment Association, or Turmepa’s, volunteer environmentalists and volunteer educationalists. It has teamed up with Turmepa for a two-part project. On June 11 the hotel and 50 volunteers will work on cleaning the Bosphorus. And the second part of the project will be having five members of the Çırağan staff taught more about the environment so that they in turn will be able to provide education on the environment to primary school students.
One suggestion was to use its sporting image to help communities in the eastern and southern parts of the country by providing sports facilities. What had to be done was fairly simple Ğ lease some waste land from local municipalities or the Treasury, blacktop it over, add a couple of nets, some paint for lines to define the playing area and some balls. The municipality would be responsible for upkeep and the local schools could provide instruction and oversight via the Sports Ministry. The club’s team members could even go out and give exhibitions, perhaps do some coaching and attract more interest to the sport. The answer was no. The company might have to get involved with the "land mafia."
What other project this company decided to do in the end isn’t known but it could never have had the impact that this proposal would have had. And one can look at this organization’s attempt to change its image as a cynical attempt to use the concept of corporate social responsibility for its own ends.
Many other companies and organizations contribute to projects such as education and health and rarely make an enormous public relations confession about it. Doğan Holding to which the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review belongs has a significant corporate social responsibility program that includes fields of education, health and culture but has also been active in acquainting citizens of Turkey with their rights. In a different vein, the wives of the consuls general in Istanbul for instance have raised money to help children who have been rescued from living on the streets. In the past, groups were known to engage in cultural activities in their own homes to raise money for important causes but this lapsed because of the current economic crisis. Now the wife of the honorary Chilean consul, Ebru Sanver, has begun to open her home and hold cultural activities for charitable purposes. Most recently friends from Switzerland, Ruedi Rechsteiner and Tülin Özgür from the banking sector who happened to be visiting personally donated 5,000 Swiss francs (approx. $4400) to the Leukemia Foundation. Others might underwrite the expenses of bringing in a famous orchestra to perform in the Istanbul Music Festival and therefore people get to hear it in person.
Educational foundations probably top the list of those able to capture the hearts of the people. One of these is the Tuvana Educational Foundation for Students who Want to Read, or TOÇEV. It was established in 1994 to provide educational opportunities and give material and moral support at all educational levels to children who are deprived of education because of the economic incapacity of their families that result in their having to earn a living instead.
TOÇEV activities are carried out through a board of directors that coordinates all of the foundation’s activities. There is a women’s committee that nominates the children, accepts donations and organizes social activities to raise donations and revenue. There is also a youth committee that organizes medical exams, participates in social activities with the children, helps solve the children’s problems and organizes activities to raise donations and revenue.
Akçakoyun Boarding Primary School
TOÇEV’s most recent efforts are part of its "Looking to the Sun Project" whereby new units were added to the Akçakoyun Boarding Primary School in Çanakkale province.
The "Looking to the Sun Project was designed by Tocev and RE/MAX Turkey and won the support of the Education Ministry. But it’s not just an educational project. Its goal is to support and encourage students who actually had homes and futures by providing further opportunities at boarding schools. To date in more than 600 schools, there are more than 165,000 students.
Last week the Çırağan Palace Kempinski joined TOÇEV, RE/MAX Turkey and the Education Ministry in Çanakkale’s Yenice district. The occasion included some 450 people Ğ students, trustees and other guests as well as the Yenice Mayor Cem Afsin Akbay, Yenice National Education Director Vahdet Hatipoğlu, Çırağan Palace Kempinski General Manager Henri Blin, TOÇEV executive board member Betül Mermertaş and RE-MAX Turkey Corporate Communications Director Gökhan Karahan. The ceremony’s host was actor Hakan Bilgin while "Magic Necmi" did his part to add to the festivities. The students were included in the gaiety with violin, guitar, poetry readings and dance performances. After lunch in the garden the students had an opportunity to speak with guests who were managers and learn about different professions.
Extensive hotel career
Improvements and innovations at the school are going to provide a better quality education and social life for the 330 boarding school students here at Akçakoyun Boarding Primary School. These include a painting workshop, music workshop, English classes, a basketball and volleyball field, garden chess, garden golf, gymnastic instruments and a conference room with technical equipment.
Among the people at the ceremony was Henri Blin, the general manager of the Çıragan Kempinski Istanbul and the international hotel chain’s regional manager. He has had an extensive career in the hotel business but he characterizes a break he took to work in a nursery school as one of the best moments of his life. Perhaps that’s why the Çıragan has taken such an interest in the Yenice Boarding School.
Other 2009 social responsibility projects of the Çırağan Palace Kempinski include its intention to continue working with the Turkish Marine Environment Association, or Turmepa’s, volunteer environmentalists and volunteer educationalists. It has teamed up with Turmepa for a two-part project. On June 11 the hotel and 50 volunteers will work on cleaning the Bosphorus. And the second part of the project will be having five members of the Çırağan staff taught more about the environment so that they in turn will be able to provide education on the environment to primary school students.